1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a Remote User Interface (RUI), and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for managing an RUI and a system for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several industry standards organizations such as Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Home Audio-Video Interoperability (HAVi), and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) have conducted studies to improve home network technology, including Remote User Interface (RUI) technology, which may be used in a home network to allow one device to control the functions of other devices. Briefly, the RUI technology, based on client-server architecture, allows an RUI Client (RUIC) to fetch a UI from an RUI Server (RUIS) and helps a user control the RUIS utilizing the UI on the RUIC.
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)-2014 is a standard for RUI, which defines a protocol and a framework for RUIs in a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) network and the Internet. In accordance with CEA-2014, an UPnP device (RUIS) provides a user interface in a web page in the form of Consumer Electronics-Hypertext Markup Language (CE-HTML), and a user may control an application of the UPnP device remotely on the web page. CE-HTML, a special version of HTML, is based on Extensible HTML (XHTML).
FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a general UPnP network. The UPnP network includes an RUIC 110, an RUIS 130, and a UI Control Point (UICP) 150. The RUIC 110 renders and controls an RUI(s) delivered from the RUIS 130. The RUIS 130 provides at least one RUI.
The UICP 150 discovers the RUIC 110 and the RUIS 130, and establishes a connection between the RUIC 110 and the RUIS 130. Although the RUIC 110 and the UICP 150 are illustrated as separate elements in the drawing, the RUIC 110 may directly discover the RUIS 130 when the UICP 150 is embedded in the RUIC 110.
If the RUIC 110 does not include the UICP 150, and a separate UICP intends to send an RUI of the RUIS 130 to the RUIC 110, even the RUIC 110 may be discovered by the UICP through discovery.
To use an RUI in the home network, discovery for the RUIC 110 and the RUIS 130 is performed. After performing the discovery, the RUIC 110 acquires an RUI page depending on a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) with the RUI page, which is included in a device description. Because the RUI page is composed to make it possible to control an application of the RUIS 130, the RUIC 110 may control the application of the RUIS 130 using the RUI page.
FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling operation for communication between an RUIS and an RUIC according to the prior art.
In order to use an RUI stored in the RUIS 130, the RUIC 110 needs to receive a RUI list and a discovery procedure between the RUIC 110 and the RUIS 130 is required. Therefore, in step 201, devices (e.g., RUIC 110 and RUIS 130) discover each other and receive an associated device description.
In step 203, the RUIC 110 sends a request for an RUI list to the RUIS 130 depending on a URL with an RUI page, which is included in the device description. In step 205, the RUIS 130 sends an RUI list to the RUIC 110 in response to the RUI list request.
The RUIC 110 provides the RUI list received from the RUIS 130 in step 207, and sends a request for an RUI page to the RUIS 130 in step 209. In step 211, the RUIS 130 provides or transmits the RUI page to the RUIC 110 in response to the RUI page request.
Currently, however, even though an RUI list in an RUIS has been updated after an RUIC received an RUI page from the RUIS, the RUIC is incapable of receiving an updated RUI list.